John Calvin's mistake....
Israel was established as a theocracy of God's.
The civil law written in the Law of Moses was the designated for the Theocracy of Israel.
Calvin failed to make that distinction.
Not to all nations.
Can We Really Exercise Free Will?
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Israel was established as a theocracy of God's.
The civil law written in the Law of Moses was the designated for the Theocracy of Israel.
Calvin failed to make that distinction.
Not to all nations.
Yes, Calvin had good reason to promote the law for civil control.
Calvin was eventually evicted from Geneva for banning things the city of Geneva enjoyed.
John Calvin and the city council of Geneva instituted strict moral reforms and sumptuary laws that banned Catholic practices,
public amusements, and displays of vanity, including dancing, gambling, swearing, theatrical plays, excessive drinking, jewelry,
and even the celebration of Christmas. (wiki)
While Calvin deeply respected Cicero's unmatched Latin prose and utilized his natural theology in his Institutes, his actual favorite classical moralist was Seneca the Younger. (wiki)
Lucius Annaeus Seneca (c. 4 BC – AD 65), also known as Seneca the Younger, was a leading Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and moral advisor to the emperor Nero. His writings on ethics and human behavior profoundly shaped Western moral philosophy.
Calvin was able to attend the Collège de la Marche, Paris, where he learned Latin from one of its greatest teachers,
Mathurin Cordier. John_Calvin completed the course, then he entered the Collège de Montaigu as a philosophy student.
(wiki)
Calvin was a philosopher at heart and a strict legal moralist.
He was, for the most part..... 'spiritually dead.'
He wanted law for everything.
His brand of law, of course.
Not the Catholics'.
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Galatians 5:18
Sadly, your comment is rather outlandish/unreasonable, in a manner associated with a particular psychopathology exhibited by a number of professed Calvinists. Doubt Calvin would be glad to see his theology so abused, there are many genuine Calvinists of good faith but also many who abuse it because they need to feel special. Which could be because they're troubled, or just arrogant and prideful, modern Calvinism has the highest proportion of the prideful type among professed Christians.
Sadly, many threads on the Bible discussion forum are more about one-upsmanship and trolling, than genuine spiritual discussion. Your comment above my reply is for self aggrandisement, sad to see but i won't stoop to your level. If anyone needs a better understanding of this disagreement, i recommend reading from probably page 1817 of my thread.
Calvin was a fallible man. That is why I don't base my beliefs on him, but on God's word. Anyway, I came to those beliefs long before I had heard of John Calvin. Yes, I do agree that Christians should demonstrate in their lives that they truly know the Saviour. Not perfectly in this life, but if somebody claims to have become a Christian, but shows absolutely no change in their life, that claim is, to say the least, suspect.
Do you really think any human system of theology is Biblically correct? Of course some are closer than others and 1st century Christianity is what floats my boat. Paul is my favourite human theologian but Peter really surprised me with his epistles, they are good.
Pre-Calvin reformers appeal more to me, Calvin wasn't a trail blazer, a fair bit of his theology is development or repackaging of earlier ideas. I think Luther was probably the most influential, early Bible translators like John Wycliffe too. They were real revolutionaries in a time when there were extremely venal, politicised Papacies; who basically demanded bribes to supposedly keep your soul out of hell etc. That there were Borgia and Medici (Italian political families) popes is seriously what on earth stuff. We are so blessed with the wealth of spiritual information we have access to, it's something to treasure and share to me; not something to get competitive about as so many here do. How does that give glory to the Lord?
First outing for this rig after a total blitz and fresh install. it was a mission, i'd done a normal clean and reinstall earlier this month but installed the newest kernel version of this OS, which soon showed warning signs of intrusion. Probably a fluke it happened with the newest version, however, i've still installed the one just prior, which automatically installs the 7 series kernel on first update anyway. What's good is the data transfer record between drives has stayed the same since i finished installing everything, hopeful but not out of the woods yet
Romans 6:15-23
New International Version
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
19 I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
New International Version
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
19 I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Your fact is dead wrong, because you obviously don't know what Calvinism teaches. Your comment "What I do know for a fact is that a Calvinist cannot know if they are truly one of the elect." was born out of fear and ignorance.
The truth is that only Calvinism - (Reformed Theology) teaches that a believer has 100% assurance they are one of Gods elect saints. You have confused the Arminian version of the gospel (which teaches that nobody can be sure of their salvation until the Judgement).
Because God initiates and sustains faith, those who are genuinely regenerate (born again) cannot lose their salvation.
Theology means the formal study of God, religion, and religious beliefs. The word comes from two Greek words: theos, meaning God, and logos, meaning word or reason. It explores the nature of the divine and how it connects to the world.
If you're not interested in knowing the truth about God, then theology is not for you. But remember what the Bible says about theology. Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
If your theology is not founded on the truth of the gospel, then the incorrect version of the gospel does not have the power to save you.
Reformed theology teaches that salvation belongs to God alone. The gospel message itself is the "power of God for salvation" (Romans 1:16) when the Holy Spirit applies it.
God uses the correct understanding of the gospel to effectually call His chosen people. The outward preaching of the word combines with the inward work of the Holy Spirit.
True faith requires a proper object—the finished work of Jesus Christ. Understanding the biblical gospel correctly means grasping Christ's substitutionary death and resurrection. Humans are spiritually dead before salvation. God must first sovereignly regenerate the heart, so a person can understand and believe the truth.
You radical Arminians can't consider any scriptures, without looking at them through your distorted Arminian lens. I notice you haven't been able to find a single fault with anything Calvinism teaches.
You don't have any credible biblical support for your radical Arminianism, and that only serves to show your theology is based on your own private opinions and imagination and not on the bible.
Gods people don't create any "human system of theology that is biblically correct". We receive Systematic theology because we believe God reveals Himself in an orderly, unified way through Scripture, requiring believers to organize His teachings into logical categories.
Systematic theology does not force outside ideas onto the Bible. Instead, it flows from God's own character. God is not the author of confusion. He speaks with purpose and clarity. Because every part of Scripture comes from God's mind, all biblical truths fit together without contradiction.
Early theologians used the loci (topics) method. This means grouping verses by specific themes, like salvation or the nature of God, to understand the whole Bible.
The Christian church began organizing doctrines during its earliest centuries. The church faced false teachings and resolved disputes at major councils. These events forced thinkers to summarize Christian beliefs clearly.
Leaders wanted a reliable body of truth to teach new believers and children. Organizing doctrine made it easier to pass down the faith.
As you can appreciate, systematic theology didn't originate from ill-intentioned wolves in sheep's clothing. As the Lord Jesus said, "how can a kingdom that is divided against itself stand".
If I recall, when I was a slave, I was bound, gagged, and tortured with depression and couldn't even lift my head from the floor or do anything to save myself and when I tried I was just tortured even more.
I was also brainwashed.
I had no choice and had to do what my masters/parents told me to do. Of course I was a child I didn't ask to be born. So sad. I couldn't even choose to have fun so I just pretended in my head. But mostly I just cried. No free will at all.
I was also brainwashed.
I had no choice and had to do what my masters/parents told me to do. Of course I was a child I didn't ask to be born. So sad. I couldn't even choose to have fun so I just pretended in my head. But mostly I just cried. No free will at all.
Wasn't Jesus swaddled as a baby? He didn't ask to be born either. At least I don't recall him speaking from the womb. Mary really had no choice she was overcome by the Holy Spirit.
Actually I think she could have said No but did God will her to say 'yes' or would He just have picked someone else to be Jesus mother?
Actually I think she could have said No but did God will her to say 'yes' or would He just have picked someone else to be Jesus mother?
Also who is Calvin? Is he on the Bible? I mean really? Some French dude. What about Luther? Nobody goes on about Lutherism and arguably he was more important as he started this whole 'reformation' thing and Protestant movement.
Didn't he protest against the church and chuck some theses at the Wittenburg door or something? How about someone explain that? Was he brainwashed too?
Didn't he protest against the church and chuck some theses at the Wittenburg door or something? How about someone explain that? Was he brainwashed too?
Interesting point to note and often times not seen...
That particular "swaddling" was the same stuff used for preparing a body for burial.
Look here: https://markvernik.substack.com/p/swaddling-clothes-what-we-didnt-know
Grace and peace ...
I believe that I am saved because I put my trust in Jesus to save me as the scripture states.
Am I absolutely certain that I am saved as a fact?
Definitely not, because my salvation is ultimately in the hands of the Lord Himself.
I live by faith in Jesus Christ not by some theological discourse that states I am secure because God is sovereign.
Calvinism teaches absolute assurance but how do you know that you, personally, are saved?
